marsh

¹

[ mahrsh ]

noun

1. a tract of low wet land, often treeless and periodically inundated, generally characterized by a growth of grasses, sedges, cattails, and rushes.

   Synonyms: wetland, marshland, fen, bog, swamp

Marsh

²

[ mahrsh ]

noun

1. Dame (Edith) Ngai·o [nahy, -oh], 1899–1982, New Zealand writer of detective novels.
2. Reginald, 1898–1954, U.S. painter and illustrator.

marsh

¹

/ mɑːʃ /

noun

1. low poorly drained land that is sometimes flooded and often lies at the edge of lakes, streams, etc Compare swamp paludal

Marsh

²

/ mɑːʃ /

noun

1. Marsh(Edith) Ngaio18991981FNew ZealandWRITING: crime writer Dame ( Edith ) Ngaio (ˈnaɪəʊ). 1899–1981, New Zealand crime writer, living in Britain (from 1928). Her many detective novels include Final Curtain (1947) and Last Ditch (1977)
2. MarshRodney (William)1947MAustralianSPORT AND GAMES: cricketer Rodney ( William ). born 1947, Australian cricketer: a wicketkeeper, he took 355 dismissals in 96 test matches (1970–84)

marsh

/ märsh /

1. An area of low-lying wetland in which the level of water is generally shallow and often fluctuating. The water may be either standing or slow-moving. The water in a marsh is also more or less neutral or alkaline, in contrast to the water in a bog, which is acidic. The environment of a marsh is in general well-oxygenated and nutrient-rich and allows a great variety of organisms to flourish. In contrast to a swamp, in which there is an abundance of woody plants, the plants in a marsh are mostly herbaceous. Reeds and rushes dominate the vegetation of marshes.
2. See also salt marsh

Derived Forms

• ˈmarshˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• marshlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of marsh¹

before 900; Middle English mershe, Old English mer ( i ) sc (cognate with German Marsch ). See mere ², -ish ¹; marais, marish, morass

Word History and Origins

Origin of marsh¹

Old English merisc; related to German Marsch, Dutch marsk; related to mere ²

Example Sentences

As part of a 20-plus-years project, researchers and volunteers spread more than 70 million eelgrass seeds over plots covering more than 200 hectares, just beyond the wide expanses of salt marsh off the southern end of Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

From Science News

Over the years, the expansion of coastal marshes and the retreat of the region’s forests have also upended local communities and livelihoods.

From Fortune

Home to sand dunes and marsh, it sits along the coast of Delaware.

From Science News For Students

She and her team have created study plots with randomly placed patches of marsh and mangrove.

From Science News For Students

Scientists have linked the health of marsh grasses to the ability of shorelines to absorb the energy of waves.

From Science News For Students

Following a conversation with Marsh, the two met at a pub in London.

From The Daily Beast

The landscape looks something like the marsh behind the Toys ‘R’ Us where Tony Soprano might bury a body in Jersey.

From The Daily Beast

The actual field, where Richard was unhorsed and slain in a medieval marsh, is more than a mile away to the southwest.

From The Daily Beast

Since 1977, Star Wars has been an essential touchstone for both Povenmire and Marsh.

From The Daily Beast

“There are a lot of diehard fans who I think are genuinely worried about Disney doing Star Wars,” admits Marsh.

From The Daily Beast

Sometimes in the case of large plants, cones have been known to occur on the tips of the branches of the Marsh Horsetail.

From Project Gutenberg

Herbert Marsh, professor of divinity in the university of Cambridge, England, died.

From Project Gutenberg

The hills disappear some miles above this city, and henceforward to the sea all is flat and tame as a marsh.

From Project Gutenberg

It cut its zigzag way through the marsh for many miles, and they could follow its course with the eye but a few feet at a time.

From Project Gutenberg

Here and there, but far away, a mast or sail rose above the level surface of the marsh.

From Project Gutenberg